Kennedy attacks Blair over fee promises

The Liberal Democrats today accused Tony Blair of betraying Labour waverers on the top-up fees vote by failing to introduce any of the "significant concessions" promised by the government at the time.

The government's 161 majority was slashed to just five in January when 72 Labour backbenchers rebelled in the closest vote of his premiership.

A vote later today on a rebel bid to remove variable fees is expected to be extremely tight, with many vowing to continue the fight against the proposals.

At prime ministers' questions today, the Lib Dem leader, Charles Kennedy, told Mr Blair that the legislation "will deter poorer students from becoming university graduates because of the debt involved, breaches trust with the public [and] does not tackle adequately the fundamental financing difficulties of the universities".

Instead, extra funding should be raised through a higher top rate of income tax, he said.

He said many potential rebels had stayed loyal to the government last time in the expectation that improvements would be made.

"What significant concessions have the government made?" he asked.

Mr Blair said there had been "changes to the whole of the package" before the previous vote and during its discussion by a committee of MPs.

"Those packages allow us, for example, to give a very substantial package of support for the poorest students which will be equivalent to the amount of the highest tuition fee."

Mr Kennedy riposted that there had in fact been "no significant concessions".

"How can you justify legislation which will undoubtedly deter poorer students from becoming university graduates because of the debt involved, which breaches trust with the public given your earlier manifesto commitment and which in fact does not tackle adequately the fundamental financing difficulties of the universities themselves."

University fees could be eliminated entirely if the top 1% of taxpayers paid more tax, he said. "Surely that is a more fair approach."

The prime minister said the chairman of the campaign for mainstream universities had warned losing the bill would "cruelly remove" promised support for poorer students.

At least the Liberal Democrats, unlike the Tories, had an alternative policy, he admitted.

But he added that the party's spending promises outstripped the revenues a new top rate of tax would earn, making the policy "simply wrong".

"And even if we could get additional sums of money from general taxpayers or top-rate taxpayers, I honestly believe in education we would surely have to give some priority to under-fives education and to educating people who need adult skills in the workforce.

"At present, of course, many of those people have to pay.

"All we are saying is that a small proportion of the overall investment in university education should be repaid by the graduate according to their ability to pay.

Tonight's key vote in the detailed report stage will be on an amendment tabled by Labour MP Ian Gibson which would effectively remove the ability of universities to vary fees up to £3,000 a year.

The government has threatened to drop the entire package of reforms, including help for poorer students, if it loses.